The Skrull's Revenge
by Avenger 22
Summary: A week after the Avengers have defeated the Skrulls, they make one last ditch effort to take down the Avengers. And possibly the Earth. But through Pepper Potts? Disclaimer-I own nothing except my own Oc's!


The Skrull's Revenge

"What was that?" Asked a medium orange haired woman carrying a large pan. Her hair hung down from her shoulders and her feet were bare. She was standing just outside her kitchen, pan at the ready," Who's there?"

Making her way towards her staircase she stopped at the closet underneath. Besides a vacuum and a few coats, not much occupied it. This was exactly what had made Pepper come to investigate. For about three weeks now, she had continually heard strange noises coming from it. Up until now, she had dismissed it as her imagination.

She flung the door open, making sure to back away before it hit her in the face. Moving various coats out of the way, she tried to think of what had made the sound. A crackling sound, almost like a radio or a walkie talkie. Before she had time to investigate further, her cell phone buzzed from the kitchen.

She raced towards the kitchen, leaving the closet door ajar. As Pepper picked up her phone, something made its way towards the door handle. It was green and reptilian looking with fingers. Slowly, it closed the closet door shut.

"OK Tony, I'll be sure to look at it as soon as possible. See you tomorrow." She put her phone in her pocket as she went back to the closet.

_What the hell? _Thought Pepper as she noticed that the door was closed. She tried to remember if she had closed it in the first place. She thought about it for a minute, recalling everything that she had done since she had gotten home. After some time, she shrugged and went back to making crepes. It had been a long day and Pepper didn't feel like thinking anymore. Hell, it had been a long week.

That evening, just as Pepper had gotten in bed, she heard it again. _Crackle, crackle, crackle. _Pepper turned the lamp on the nightstand on. Rushing out of bed, she felt goose bumps on her bare arms as she headed downstairs. Turning on the light as she did so, she stopped at the closet once more.

Gently, she opened it bit by bit. She made certain to go through all the coats this time. She reached for the vacuum, which seemed to have removed itself from its usual position.

Pepper closed the closet firmly and went back to bed. The crackling returned, but she decided not to go back. She figured the sound she heard was only because she was overtired and had heard many people using walkie talkies or radios.

Throughout the rest of the night, Pepper could hardly sleep. She continued to hear crackling noises and talking. Constant talking, usually in a very low voice. She tried to think of where she had heard the voices, but couldn't recall. Part of her thought she was going crazy. Nevertheless, Pepper attempted to get as much sleep as she could.

The next morning as Pepper was getting ready for work, she heard it again. Just as she was about to throw open the door, her cell phone rang. She answered it just as she left her apartment.

"Hey Pepper are you feeling alright?" Pepper was surprised to find Tony on the other line. Usually, he only called her for important business details. However, she had seemed extremely tired yesterday.

She reached the elevator just as it opened. Fortunately, nobody else was on. Leaning against the wall, she pulled her purse closer to herself.

"Just tired. I couldn't sleep very well last night." Pepper yawned, which was something she normally didn't do. If she felt any hint of exhaustion, she didn't allow it to show.

"What's going on Pepper?" Asked Tony, changing the subject abruptly. Pepper almost hadn't expected it, mainly because he had taken a leave of absence not even a week ago.

"Not now," She whispered as she entered her parking structure. As soon as she was on the road she said," Why don't you come over for dinner?" Instantly he agreed and the conversation ended.

Back at Pepper's apartment the closet went silent, still. As soon as the coast was clear, Pepper's closet door opened, as it by itself. Several coats were thrown onto the floor. The next thing that came out of the closet was a figure. It was tall and green. It had pointed ears and reptilian looking skin.

"This is agent 25," Said the Skrull, holding a walkie talkie looking machine to his mouth. He surveyed his surroundings," report."

"This is Veranke's station," Came the reply from what sounded like a male," The queen was captured by humans a week ago. We don't know where they've taken her, but we do know they've taken the Super Skrulls as well."

"Who took her?" Spat the Skrull, making his way around the apartment. He took note on everything he saw. His eyes glowed with disgust and distaste.

"A team of super humans that calls themselves the Avengers. You have been assigned to the house of someone close to them. The one called Pepper Potts. Your mission is to learn as much as bout her as you can and then infiltrate Stark Industries."

The Skrull put his walkie talkie away as he climbed back into the closet. However, he didn't bother to put back anything had had taken out. It was extremely crammed in that closet. Some cleaning would do this human good.

At that moment, footsteps could be heard outside the apartment. The door opened and in stepped Pepper, followed closely behind by Tony. The two abruptly stopped in mid conversation. Instantly, Pepper's cheeks grew warm and very crimson. Tony turned to her, trying to read her face. Nonetheless, it wasn't as easy as it looked. He gripped her arms tightly.

"Pepper, what's wrong? Is there still food between my teeth from lunch?" He asked, frantically checking his teeth. Pepper shook her head and pointed toward the mess near her closet. Tony looked and the only thing he was was a mess," What about it?"

"It wasn't there when I left today." She said, frantically making her way over to the mess. He gave a small, tired sigh as she cleaned it up.

"So what was keeping you awake last night? Was it my return?" He asked, giving her a cheesy grin.

Pepper's blush returned, except this time even darker. Putting her things on her kitchen counter, she tried to ignore him," Not entirely, no. It's been happening a lot recently. I keep hearing things."

Tony took a seat at the counter, which was square shaped and large. It stood in the center of the kitchen like an island. There were three other stools near Tony's. He listened as she told him what had been going on for the past three weeks. He didn't judge or interrupt, just listen.

Just as Pepper and Tony sat down to dinner the crackling noise returned. Both sat still and listened to it. It carried throughout the house. Tony put down his napkin and Pepper followed him out of the room.

"Tony, what are you doing?" She hissed staying near the door as Tony made his way towards the closet. He turned to face her, his eyes conveying all seriousness. He leaned close to her and whispered into her ear.

"I think I know what's underneath your stairs. However, you have to trust me. Play along," he winked and she nodded nervously," Hey Pepper may I use your bathroom?" He asked overly loud for emphasis.

Pepper nodded and he raced up the stairs. Pepper was heading back to the kitchen until she heard rustling coming from the closet. As if on its own, the closet door swung open. Coming out of the closet came a reptilian looking figure with large, pointed ears. Pepper held up her hands defensively, as if that would protect her. The foreign reptile pulled out a small gun and pointed it at her. She let out a blood curdling scream and at that moment, a blue repulsor ray hit the Skrull in the back. Her kitchen door now had a giant hole in the middle. Pepper looked to see Tony, armor and all. She raced towards him as his mask peeled back.

"Tony what was that?" She asked as he headed towards the kitchen door. She could hear the reptile groaning in the other room.

Tony turned to look at her while responding," It's a Skrull. One infiltrated the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and other organizations." With that, he headed to the kitchen.

Pepper waited near the door. She listened at the sound of the fighting on the other side. As time went on, it became more and more intense. She heard grunts, blasts and other sounds of frustration. Occasionally, she peered through the hole in her door. Many times she saw Tony blast the Skrull and other times it was the Skrull blasting Tony. Both seemed evenly injured. Eventually Tony seemed to be losing so Pepper decided to take a risk. She entered the kitchen and grabbed the nearest, largest pan. Holding her pan at the ready, the Skrull charged towards her. Just as it reached her, she smacked it on the head.

Pepper watched him go down as Tony blasted him in the back. He crashed through the wall to her left, dropping his gun as he went. Holding her pan up, she saw Tony give a small nod. She surveyed her kitchen as Tony went to collect the Skrull. It had at least at least one hole in each wall and multiple burn marks. There were even burn marks on the floor. Some dishes had been thrown on the ground. This was going to be an expensive fix, but Pepper had suffered worse.

"Well, I found out why he was here. He was sent to try to infiltrate Stark Industries. Through you." Tony said as he slammed the unconscious Skrull on the kitchen floor.

"So is that why you took a leave of absence?" Questioned Pepper as Tony turned to her. For a few moments, he was at a loss for words.

It was a long time before the Skrull was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D custody. It took even longer for questioning and interviews. Eventually, everyone left. That left it down to Pepper and Tony, who were lounging in what was left of the kitchen. He pecked her on the cheek as he threw away the food.

"What about Violetta?" She whispered as Tony pulled on his coat.

"We broke up six months ago," He said as she followed him to her front door. Turning to her, he said," Pepper would you like to go out to dinner?"

Pepper blinked several times before blushing once again," Are you sure?" She asked grabbing a pair of high heeled shoes. Tony nodded and she went to grab he coat. Once she had it on, she took Tony's arm and walked out of her apartment with him. She felt a sense of renewed confidence. She felt invincible, and she knew Tony wouldn't let her fall.


End file.
